This past weekend, I got to experience my FIRST blogger retreat! I have been wanting to go to one of these ever since I started blogging. My friend, Brittany, and I were talking one day, and I mentioned that I've always wanted to go to one, and she said, "OMG! You need to come to Refresh! It's a Christian blogger retreat and I'm a host! You will LOVE it!" After talking with Jared, we decided that we would do everything we could to make it happen. I am SO THANKFUL that God provided a way for me to attend! It was INCREDIBLE! I got a LOT more out of it than I thought I would. I went into it hoping to meet new friends and have lots of girl talk, good workouts, and food, but I came away with so much more.
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| Photo from Amia |
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| Photo from Jennifer |
God revealed to me how SELFISH I was being last year. Yes, my husband travels a LOT with his job. It is tough sometimes, but I was being so selfish, that I wasn't allowing him to actually ENJOY it. I complained way too much about him getting to travel to all of these cool places and do so many cool things, while I was stuck at home. I was NOT the wife that God wanted me to be for Jared. As I am writing this with tears streaming down my face, God allowed the roles to be reversed this weekend. But, instead of retaliating and treating me like I treated him, Jared did nothing but show me GRACE. He allowed me the freedom to actually enjoy where I was at and enjoy spending time with the people I was with, instead of constantly talking to him on the phone because he didn't have anything to do at night, like I did to him. He allowed me to invest in the people I was hanging out with and develop relationships with them. I am so thankful that God gave me such a wonderful, loving, and supportive husband. When I got home, I broke down and cried on Jared's shoulders and told him how sorry I was for being so selfish. He forgave me and told me that we had to make a promise to NOT LOOK BACK and only move forward. I am so thankful for God's grace and forgiveness!
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| Photo from Amia |
This weekend was a major breakthrough for the lifestyle that we have, with Jared traveling a lot. It also leads me into another point, that God's blessings are constant. HE ALWAYS TAKES CARE OF US. He gave me TWO great families to nanny for full time! I am going to watch a baby in the mornings and a 4 year old in the afternoons. I am so excited that I get to love on a SWEET SWEET baby, and do fun learning activities with the four year old.
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Now, here are some fun pics from the retreat:
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| Photo from Bobbi |
Wow, what an incredible SWAG bag full of healthy goodies! Thank you SO MUCH to all the sponsors!!!
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| Photo from Amia |
Lots of girl talk went on this weekend. It was cold outside, so we were fortunate to have a fireplace to warm up!
TONS of yummy snacks and meals were eaten.
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| Photo from Amia |
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| Photo from Amia |
